Category: Health
How Kenya’s devolution hobbled healthcare
Earlier this year, two girls died of dog-transmitted rabies in western Kenya. The deaths incensed veterinarians who had been struggling to obtain rabies vaccines from the local government for years. By all accounts, the veterinarians should have been able to source the vaccines. In 2014, Kenya’s national government had embarked on a drive to eliminate rabies […]
Mon chemin vers l’indépendance
Comme tout bon projet, ma thèse de doctorat a été parsemée de beaucoup de difficultés. Même si à chaque fois j’ai trouvé le courage de continuer, j’avais, à un moment, pris la décision de ne pas m’engager dans une carrière de chercheur à temps plein, préférant l’enseignement. De plus, un de mes superviseurs m’avait fortement […]
Hospital study reveals chink in the armour of Zambian superbugs
Drug-resistant bacteria found in hospitals cause thousands of deaths worldwide each year. But a study of such superbugs in a Zambian hospital offers hope that they remain sensitive to more antibiotic types than bacteria found in better-resourced hospitals in Europe or North America. Hospital staff often unwittingly transmit bacteria between patients. Researchers from the University […]
ARV drugs in Ugandan pork a growing health concern
Mounting evidence that farmers in northern Uganda try to fatten up their pigs with antiretroviral drugs destined for humans with HIV has raised serious health concerns in the East African country. The practice could be putting many Ugandans at risk. Ugandans are the biggest pork-eaters in Africa, with each person on average consuming 3.5 kilograms […]
Morsure de serpent: les antivenins de mauvaise qualité inondent le marché africain
Une étude de Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) montre que les antivenins qui ont largement inondé ces dernières années le marché africain sont de mauvaise qualité et à peine efficaces. L’organisation plaide pour un essai clinique de ces produits avant leur mise sur le marché. Kabinin Yaou, Togolais et père de famille, est l’un des rares […]
Your grandma was wrong: seawater doesn’t cure eye infections
The use of seawater as a home remedy for conjunctivitis—an eye infection that causes redness and itching—has been passed down in Ghana for generations. But now scientists and doctors in the country are warning people against the practice, calling it ineffective and potentially dangerous. Conjunctivitis is a common complaint in Ghana, especially during the country’s […]
The health benefits of waakye, Ghana’s secret superfood
Ghanaians are crazy about waakye, a local dish prepared by cooking rice and beans with red sorghum leaves. The leaves add flavour and give waakye (pronounced waa-che) its distinctive reddish-brown colour. The leaves are also rich in antioxidants, which in turn can be good for human health. But the health benefits of eating waakye are […]
New treatment offers hope for Kala-Azar victims who also have HIV
A new treatment for patients suffering from both HIV and the deadly parasite-borne disease Kala-azar has shown impressive cure rates, raising hopes for thousands of patients worldwide. Kala-azar, also known as visceral leishmaniasis, is caused by parasites that infect humans through sandfly bites. The parasites attack the spleen, liver and bone marrow causing fever, weight-loss […]
Old cooking solutions could bring new benefits in Ethiopia
Cooking on open fires can waste fuel and produce smoke dangerous to human health—especially if the stove is located indoors. So, in the 1980s, Ethiopia rolled out two improved cooking stove designs: the Mirt made of cement and the Gonzie that could be made of local clays. Both offered similar benefits, requiring less fuel and […]
The promise and pitfalls of using AI to diagnose mental illness
Smart algorithms could soon help doctors diagnose neurological diseases like autism and schizophrenia. But will such tests be accurate in Africa? Sarah Wild reports. No single human can monitor the brain’s 86 billion neurons in real time, let alone the electrical impulses they send to each other. Even a team of people working 24 hours […]